11 Birthdays, By Wendy Mass
       This Bluebonnet Book features a boy and girl who were born on the same day but to different parents. The boy, Leo, and the girl, Amanda, have been friends since they were born and shared each birthday together. However, on their tenth birthday, Leo's friends pressure Leo into telling them that his mom forces him to share his birthday with Amanda. Amanda overhears this and is crushed. She cuts off Leo from her life for a whole year and they plan to have separate birthdays for their 11th birthday. However, Amanda did not hear Leo gaining the courage to tell his friends later on his tenth birthday that he actually enjoys sharing his birthday with her even if she is a girl. The day of Amanda's 11th birthday comes and goes, and Amanda expects it to be Saturday when she wakes up the next morning. The day, however, repeats itself and she relives her birthday over and over. Eventually, Amanda and Leo find out that both of them have been reliving the same day and they reconcile to make the most of it. Eventually, they find a mysterious old woman that helps them discover the familial curse that explains what is happening to them. Together, the three of them are able to break the curse at the end of the book and they finally wake up to the next day, Saturday. The two's friendship has become strengthened by their experience.
       This book would be most appropriate for third, fourth, or fifth-grade students. This book is a chapter book that may be too long and complex for second graders to read on their own and they may become confused when listening to the book in a read-aloud. However, for older elementary students, this book would be fantastic to have in the classroom library and to read aloud to the students each day. This book teaches readers that actions have consequences. Leo told his friends negative things about Amanda and Amanda heard it. Therefore, she cut off their friendship. However, because Amanda and Leo never talked about their conflict, they never resolved it until the end of the book. This shows students what ack of communication can do to friendships and the consequences of Leo's words that Amanda overheard. Additionally, this book is a chapter book with simple language but engaging ideas. This keeps students interested in reading the story independently especially as they transition to reading chapter books.